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Back to Our Roots, the Kon Tiki

Submitted by beachcomber
on Tue, 01/29/2019 - 12:00

This year's theme Pageant of the Pacific is an origin story of sorts. We're looking back to the origins of Tiki and the 1930s, when mainstream America was starting to learn about the wonders of Polynesia, and Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic opened their first restaurants.

Tiki Kon's origin story includes our namesake, the Portland Kon Tiki restaurant opened by Steve Crane circa 1959. Though it closed 20 years before the first Tiki Kon, it lives on through us, and through artifacts that can still be found at Hale Pele, including its famous trio of cannibal tikis (depicted on the cover of the original 1959 menu) and the outrigger canoe currently suspended over the bar.

Few photographs exist of the Portland Kon Tiki, but we recently acquired an original dinner menu, in excellent condition, from the Portland location. It's a peek into Portland's rich Tiki history, and we present it here in its entirely for your enjoyment.

You can find a bit more info and a few photos of the Portland Kon Tiki over at Critiki.